On Monday, Russia announced it has permanently banned an additional 25 Americans from visiting the country, brining those who fall under the category of “closed” to over a thousand. Hollywood actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn, along with other public figures, are the most recent additions to the list.
Both Stiller and Penn traveled to Ukraine to meet with president Zelensky.
A Russian Foreign Ministry statement announcing the bans also includes business people and high-ranking officials such as U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, a member of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council.
The Kremlin said that the list was “in response to the ever-expanding personal sanctions by the Biden administration against Russian citizens.”
Although the Russian Foreign Ministry statement did not explain how the list of those to be banned was put together, Penn and Stiller have traveled to Ukraine and held meetings with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the invasion, Fortune reported.
When Stiller visited in June, he said to the Ukrainian leader, “You’re my hero.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry statement revealed:
Statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry in connection with the introduction of personal sanctions
against US citizensThe following is a list of names of American citizens who are included in the Russian “stop list”, based on the principle of reciprocity:
1. Matthew S. Axelrod-Deputy Minister of Trade2. Bruce Bodin- Senior Vice President, Mosaic3. David Boyd Burritt- Executive Director of the metallurgical concern “U-ES steel”4. Daniel P. Vadich- head of a lobbying firm “Yorktown Solutions”5. Paul GOBL (Paul A. Goble)-Fellow at the World Policy Institute6. Lorenco Gonsalves- President, Cleveland Cliffs Mining Company7. Don Graves-Deputy Minister of Trade8. Ryota Jonen- director of the World Movement for Democracy9. Mark Kelly-Democratic Senator (Arizona)10. Thea Kandler- Deputy Minister of Trade11. Victoria Clement-head of a consulting company “Central Asia Insights”12. Kevin Kramer-Republican Senator (North Dakota)13. David Crain-Head of NGO “Global Accountability Network”14. Jeremy Pelter-Deputy Minister of Trade15. Sean Penn-actor, director , producer16. Thomas Stuart Price Perriello- funds executive director “Open Society”17. Gina Rainmondo- Minister of Commerce18. Michael Rounds-Republican Senator (South Dakota)19. John Serafini- senior company manager Hawkeye 36020. Kirsten Cinema-Democratic Senator (Arizona)21. Richard Scott-Republican Senator (Florida)22. Stephen Starr-founder and chairman of the Institute of Central Asia and the Caucasus23. Ben Stiller- actor, director, producer24. Patrick Toomey, Jr.- Republican Senator (Pennsylvania)25. Anthony Will- chemical company president C-F Industries
The hostile actions of the American authorities, which continue to follow a Russophobic course, destroying bilateral ties and escalating confrontation between Russia and the United States, will continue to be resolutely rebuffed.
A full list of US citizens who fall under the category of “closed” can be found here.
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